This invention relates to vehicular drive assemblies, and particularly to fully floating drive axles. Prior construction of axles in the light to medium truck category has involved the forging of a one-piece axle and axle shaft flange, and has necessitated flange machining to rather close tolerances to provide the finished drive axle. The production of various shaft lengths has been relatively cumbersome and expensive, since production line changes involving resetting of equipment has been required. Even where such axles have been of two-piece construction, viz. axle shaft flanges splined to axle shafts, as for example in certain off-highway construction and industrial equipment, the flanges have in general been axially secured to the shafts by snap rings, or simply left unsecured. When left unsecured the axles have been subject to chucking under load changes and/or to end thrust damage which occurs upon the cornering of the vehicle as result of relative axial movement of the shaft within the axle flange.